Ironing board attachment



May 29, 1951 I B. HEDGES 2,554,983

IRONING BOARD ATTACHMENT Filed Feb. 25, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 29, 1951 B. HEDGES mourns BOARD ATTACHMENT Filed Feb. 25, 1949 2 Sheets-Shea?- 2 Patented May 29, 1951 IRONING BOARD ATTACHMENT Beatrice Hedges, Faribault, Minn.

Application February 25, 1949, Serial No. 78,396

3 Claims.

My invention relates to ironing boards and, more specifically, is in the nature of an attachment therefor.

The primary object of my invention is the provision of an attachment for ironing boards in the nature of an adjustable supporting means adjacent the side edges thereof which may be progressively extended in an outward and upward direction, when and as desired, to support the ironed portions of lengthy articles such as curta ins, sheets, and the like.

I have found that, as the supplemental supporting bars are spaced from their normal pOSitions adjacent the side of the board, it is highly desirable to progressively elevate them as they are moved outwardly. Therefore, it is a specific object of my invention to provide means in the nature of supporting bars which are so secured to the under portion of the ironing board that, when they are moved outwardly with respect to the side edges of the board, the will automatically be moved upwardly in an arcuate path Another provision of my invention is the provision of a device which, under the action of gravity, will lock itself against accidental removal in a desired set position without the use of clamping screws or the like.

A still further'object of my invention is the provision of means for accomplishment of the above objects, which is inexpensive to produce, easy to secure to and remove from an ironing board, rugged in construction, andv durable in use. I

Other highly important objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed specification, appended claims, and attached drawings.

Referring to the drawings, in which like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views: I

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an ironing board with my novel device attached thereto;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse section, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view corresponding to Fig. 2, but showing a difierent position of some of the parts;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse section, taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a view, partly in section and partly in bottom plan, on an enlarged scale, as seen from the line 5-5 of Fig. 1, some parts being broken away; and

Fig. 6 is a still further enlarged sectional detail, taken substantially on the line 65 of Fig. 2.

Referring with greater detail to the drawings,

an ironing table is shown comprising a table top I, rear supporting legs 2, front supporting legs 3, and braces 4. Legs 2 have their upper ends pivoted to brackets 5, as indicated at ii, the brackets ibeing rigidly secured to the under side of the board i. Braces 4 are pivoted at their rear ends to the intermediate portions of rear legs 2 by rivets or the like l and have their front end portions connected by a relatively short cross member 8. The extreme front ends of braces 4 have abutting engagement with the under side of board I and the adjacent side of a stop member or cleat 9 rigidly secured to the under side of the ironing board I. Legs 3 are secured together at their lower front ends by a rivet or the like Ill and, intermediate their ends, are pivotally secured one each of the intermediate portion of one of the brace members 4 b rivets or the like II. The upper rear ends of legs 3 are joined by a cross member l2 and abut the under side of ironing board I and the adjacent side of a stop member or cleat I3 rigidly secured to the board I. The ironing board structure immediately abovedescribed, is of a type commonly used and the details thereof in themselves form no essential part of the invention herein claimed.

I provide a pair of brackets I4 and I5 attached to the under side of the board I adjacent the front and rear ends respectively thereof by screws or the like I6. Bracket I i includes spaced mounling pads II and connecting tubular guides I8 and I9. As shown particularly in Fig. 4, guides I8 and I9 are open-ended and are longitudinally arouate in form. Each of the guides I8 and I9 is provided with a longitudinally-extended slot 20, the purpose of which will hereinafter appear. Bracket I5 is similar to bracket I4 and comprises a pair of spaced mounting pads 2| and a pair of connecting tubular guides 22 and 23. Guides 22 and 23 are longitudinally arcuate, the arc thereof having the same radius as the are of guides I3 and I9. It will be seen, by reference to Figs. 2-5 inclusive, that guide bracket It is of less length than guide bracket I5 to permit its being secured to the narrow tapered end of the ironing board I. It is important to note that the intermediate portions of tubular guides I8 and I9 and tubular guides 22 and 23 are downwardly spaced from the ironing board I a like amount so that the central portions of each thereof are at the same level. Tubular guides 22 and 23 are also provided with longitudinally-extended slots 24 and are openended in the same manner as guides I8 and I9.

I provide a pair of generally U-shaped material-supporting members 25 and 26, each comtubular 3 prising a longitudinally-extended supporting bar 21 and angularly-pr-ojecting legs 28 and 29. Legs 28 and 29 are curved on an arc of substantially the same radius as the arcs of tubular guides l8, I9, 22, and 23. As shown, legs 28 and 29 of supporting member 25 are adapted to be slidably received in guides 18 and 22 respectively, whereas legs 28 and 29 of supporting member 26 are adapted to be similarly received in guides I 9 and 23 respectively. ,Each of the-legs 28 and 29 is provided with a headed stop pin 30 extending radially outwardly through a cooperating slot 20 or 24, whereby to limit sliding movements of legs 28 and 29 in their respective guides. Supporting bars 21 are each provided with an angular portion 3| which extends substantially parallel to the tapered portion of ironing board I. At the point of joinder between the angular portion 3| and leg 28 of each supporting member 25 and 28 is an offset portion 32 (see particularly Fig. 4),

which is of suflicient height to cause legs 28 to be disposed at a common level with legs 29. Supporting members .25 and 26 are movable from an inoperative position, wherein the supporting bars 2l'lie closely adjacent the longitudinal side edges of the-ironing board I, as illustrated in Fig. 3, to an extended operative position shown'in Figs. 1, 2,4,and 5. The curvature of legs 28 and 29 and cooperating tubular guides l8, I9, 22, and 23 cause supporting bars 21 to move outwardly and upwardly in an arcuate path. When supporting members 25 and 26 are in their fully extended positions of Figs. 2 and 4, it will be seen that Supporting bars 21 thereof automatically assume positions wherein .1

they. are levelwith the top side of ironing board I. The weight of sucheach supporting bar 21' is sufficient to. cause a slight binding actionbetween the legs 28 and 29 thereof and their respective guides to prevent accidental sliding.

movements of the legs withinthe tubular guides so that supporting bars 21 will remain in their adjusted positions regardless of the weight of material supported thereby. The stop pins 38 working in their respective slots 20 and 24 pre- 4 vent either the ironed or unironed portions of the material from coming into contact with the floor and being soiled. Theunironed portion may be draped over one of the supporting bars 2'! and,

:as thesheet is progressively ironed, the ironed portion may then be draped over the opposite supporting bar 21. By this means, not only is the material prevented from contact with the floor but the ironing operation is efiectively accelerated. The bars 2'! may-also be-used for supporting material to be ironed or articles which 4 have been ironed, thus eliminating a substantial amount of bending over by the operator.

My invention has been thoroughly tested and found to be adequate for the accomplishment of the objectives set forth. While I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that the same is capable of modification within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

What I claim is:

1. An ironing board attachment comprising an elongated supporting bar having angularly-disposed legs at its opposite ends, said legs being curved upwardly on a common are from their free ends, and bracket means adapted to be se- .cured to the under side of an ironing board adjacent the sideedge thereof for slidable reception of said arcuate legs whereby said supportingbar may be moved from a normal position adjacent the side edge'of said board upwardly and outwardly therefrom in an arcuate path to .amaterial-supporting position upwardly and outwardly spaced therefrom. I

2. The structure definedin claim ,l-in which said bracket'means includes ,a pair of arcuate guide tubes adapted to slidably receive said arcuate legs, said tubes being provided with'longitudinally-extended slots, and in further combination with stop pins adaj cent the free ends of said legs, said stop pins working in said slots and limiting outward movements of'said legs in said tubes.

3. In combination, an ironing board,-a pairof brackets secured to the under side ofsaid ironing board in longitudinally-spaced relationship, reach of said brackets including a pair of laterally-extended arcuate guide tubes which open outwardly :in opposite directions, a pair of elongated supporting bars one adj acent-each-oppositeside edge of said board, each of said supporting barsbeing provided with arcuate legs which are :slidably received one each within one ,of the guide tubes in opposite brackets-whereby said supporting bars may be moved from normal positions-closely adjacent thelongitudinal side edges of said board outwardly and upwardly in arcuate paths to material-supporting positions.

BEATRICE HEDGES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record .inithe file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 788,841 Morris May2, 1905 1,016,848 North Feb. 6,,1912 1,017,842 Baker Feb. v20, 1912 1,189,529 Benson July 4, .1916 1,191,782 Harrison July 18, 19.16 2,201,043 Kirsch May 14, 1940 2,447,204 Piotrowski Aug. 17, 1948 

